Book
by virtualfindingsdocumented
Summary: Two of the Baudelaire siblings and a book.


Klaus left the room that served as a mix of library and office in the small apartment to find Violet sitting on the couch, reading a book. It was not one from their small collection, but something borrowed from a public library, as he could see from the label and from the cover he would recognize anywhere.

"What is *this* doing in our home?" He asked, not making any effort to hide how displeased he was.

Violet lowered her head slightly. They had found out about those books a couple of years ago. It is a disconcerting experience to find out that your deepest secrets were published by someone you barely heard of once, and the siblings had mixed reactions to it. Klaus was furious, and if his sisters hadn't stopped him he could very well have gone to the publishing house and demand to see the author, not caring about how dangerous it could be for their family. Sunny hadn't expressed her feelings, but that was how she usually was towards anything from their past, anything from before Beatrice. It was hard for her older siblings to understand her. Violet had felt sad and also betrayed, which didn't make a lot of sense since she had never met the author and so could never have trusted him. And Beatrice...

Well, Beatrice had been the first one to find them. The Baudelaire siblings never believed in forbidding her from reading anything she wished to, and allowed her to have privacy. They always told her that she only had to tell them if she ever encountered something in a book that made her feel bad, or that she didn't understand, and they would explain it to her and help her deal with her feelings and avoid such contents in the future. That was how their parents raised them and it worked, and so far it had worked for Beatrice.

But there were no books containing their parents ' shameful secrets, at least not that they had encountered as children. Beatrice found those books and was far into the series when she confronted her guardians about them, and about the secrets she learned. The Baudelaire siblings were taken by surprise, as only then they learned someone had published a more or less accurate story about them, and that person knew many parts of it that they had never told Beatrice.

There was a fight, and it ended with Beatrice packing her things and running away during the night, while her guardians slept, leaving behind a note saying she was tired of lies and that she was going after the truth. They hadn't seen her again after it, no matter how much they tried and searched. It happened just a couple weeks before her sixth birthday.

The Baudelaire siblings searched all her favorite locations, and asked every waiter, librarian and taxi driver in the area. They sent coded messages to be published in newspapers and read in radios. They even retraced their steps to previous locations where they lived for some time. They even tried to get help from the authorities, being extra careful not to let their true identities be found, but it was useless.

But they would never give up on her, just like they didn't give up on Klaus when he was hypnotized or on Violet when she was taken by Esmé Squalor and anesthetized or on Sunny when Olaf captured her and drove her to Mount Fraught. Beatrice was theirfamily, andd they would find her no matter what it took.

"I was curious." Violet answered.

"Everything in there are things we already know or lies." Klaus said, shaking his head.

"We don't know it for sure." Violet said. Klaus didn't answer, but she knew it was only to avoid an argument. "He says he loved mother."

"It was clearly not reciprocated." Klaus said, taking a seat.

"How can we be so sure?"

"Mother loved father."

Violet nodded half-heartedly. She didn't doubt the love between her parents, but she also knew their lives didn't start the day they got married.

"He says he was engaged to mother."

"That can only be a lie. Mother never told us anything about being engaged to someone else."

"There are many things mother never told us." She pointed.

Klaus couldn't argue with that.

Violet placed a bookmark and sighed.

"Maybe we should try to meet him.

Klaus looked at her in shock. She continued:

"He's Kit's brother. He knew our parents- maybe he's one of the only people left who did."

Despite his urge to refuse, Klaus considered her words.

"It's just... we already met plenty of people who disappointed us." He explained. "I don't think we need to add anyone else to the list."

"He seems like a good person. Besides, we don't need anyone to protect us anymore." Violet said, softly.

"If he's really good, then why didn't he try to help us? He clearly knew what was going on and still he did nothing!"

"I want to know the reason as well." Violet sighed. "He may be able to help us find Beatrice."

"He will disappoint us, like everyone else did." Klaus insisted. "You think Beatrice is with him."

The idea had crossed his mind, of course. Almost every possibility had. But if Beatrice was safe living with another relative and never tried to contact them again, that meant she didn't want to be a part of their family again. It was a very painful idea.

"I think she went after him." Violet said, carefully. "But she may have been found by someone else."

"What do you mean?"

Violet's face became very sad.

"It has been a long time since she disappeared. Maybe she met someone who knew who she was, who knew her parents-"

"No!" Klaus almost shouted. "Bea is fine! She has to be!"

"He could help us find her." Violet continued. "He knows VFD. You know how hard it is to find any information about it anywhere."

"You know how hard it is to get any information about it from any volunteer." Klaus sighed. "I don't like this idea, Vi. I really don't."

"But if there's a chance of him taking us closer to Bea..." Violet let the suggestion hang in the air.

"I will think about it." He said, after a few seconds. "We should ask Sunny what she thinks, after dinner."

Violet nodded. She hadn't mentioned it to Sunny yet. She preferred talking to Klaus first, because she knew what to expect with him.

There was one thing she was sure of, about both her brother and her sister: they would do anything for Beatrice. Like she herself would, like she had done for them when they were younger. Though her heart ached every day she was not with them, she didn't let herself lose hope that one day her family would be together again.


End file.
